This invention relates to medical devices, and in particular to a guide for controlling the orientation or direction of a medical device.
Control of medical devices inside the body is a persistent problem. It is important to accurately control medical devices so that they quickly and effectively perform their diagnostic or therapeutic function, while minimizing collateral damage to surrounding tissue. A particular difficulty has been selectively controlling the direction in which a medical device is deployed from a location inside the body, for example while implanting a deep brain stimulator. With the equipment and methods presently available, the placement of a device in the brain frequently involves forming a straight path to the site from a burr hole in the skull. When several devices are placed in the brain, or when a single device is placed in several locations, a number of separate paths are made from the burr hole to the separate locations. It would be preferred to have a single main path from the burr hole with a plurality of branches extending to the separate locations. However there is no device that accurately and easily guides medical devices in a plurality of separate branches. Similar problems are encountered when navigating through other body tissues.
Another difficulty with the prior art devices is the accurate navigation of medical devices in body lumens and cavities. It is often desired to deploy a medical device in a body lumen or cavity in a particular direction, or to make contact in a particular orientation, for example with the needles used in the delivery of gene therapy, particularly in the heart.
Generally, the present invention relates to a guide for deploying a medical device in the body. The guide comprises a cannula, having a proximal end, a distal end, and lumen therebetween. There is a guide member, with a passage therethrough movably mounted in the lumen of the cannula. The guide member can be magnetically or mechanically moved to change the orientation of the passage in the guide member, and thus the direction of deployment of a medical device from the guide. The guide thus allows the direction of deployment of a medical device to be precisely controlled, and further allows a medical device to be deployed in a number of separate paths from the same device. The guide also facilitates the automation of the deployment of medical devices.
The guide of this invention can also be used to orient a built-in device, such as a sensor or camera or fiber optic lead, or a therapeutic component such as a laser.
These and other features and advantages will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.